Spiritual Authority

James 4:7 says:

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (KJV)

"...resist the devil and he will fly from you" (Moffatt)

"...stand up to the devil and he will turn and run" (NEB)

"Range yourselves therefore under God, but withstand the adversary, and he will flee from you" (Rotherham)

"...submit to God, resist the devil, and he will run away from you" (Beck)

"Be submitted then to God! Oppose the devil, and he will flee from you!" (Apostolic Bible)

These are military terms:

"Submit" (hupotasso, 5293), here, a military term meaning, to place or arrange under command, or under your commander, in battle array formation. The verb form, in the Greek, has the sense of imperative urgency.

"Resist" (anthistemi, 436), is where we get the English word "antihistamines", which are natural or prescribed medications to resist and attack infections in the body. This Greek word conveys not only withstanding and opposing, but present and imperative force, attacking, and fighting back against an enemy, in military fashion.

"Flee" (pheugo, 5343). This Greek word, in the context of military use, deals with fleeing away, seeking safety, from persons inspiring fear and threatening danger.

In other words, the devil is terrified of the army of the church, corporately, and individually, arrayed in battle formation, not only resisting his attacks, but, in our spiritual authority, causing serious harm to his crumbling, corrupt, kingdom; to the point that he runs away in terror, fearing the irreparable damage to his forces and schemes.

A Christian Example

A great spiritual lady has passed into heaven, who was highly respected by those who knew her. Her and her husband pastored for many years; started churches; and raised up leaders, both in Canada and in other nations. Whenever I think of her, the memory that is prominent in my mind, is from many many years ago, when several of us young people, were trying to cast out a demon, out of an individual, at the back of the church, after a gospel meeting. She was up at the front of the church, by the altar, ministering to people there. The individual who was possessed, not unlike the numerous accounts in scripture, was laughing at our feeble attempts to command the spirit, or spirits to leave. When she was done ministering up at the front, this spiritual lady noticed what was going on at the back of the building, and she began walking up the aisle, toward us. Suddenly, the individual, who had been mocking us, became absolutely terrified! They tried desperately to back through the wall, from the chair they were sitting in, and seemed to now become literally paralyzed with fear, as this godly woman approached. Within minutes, after this lady rebuked the demons, and commanded them to leave, the individual was sane, and in their right mind, totally delivered.

The two prominent truth's from this story are that:

1) This great lady knew who she was, and her authority in the Lord Jesus Christ.

2) The demons knew who she was, and they were terrified of her.

The demonic kingdom knows who you are. It is time for you to know who you are, and to walk in that authority.

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours